In June 2018, we co-convened an event on Wasan Island, Canada, bringing together practitioners, academics, funders to explore together how we might work together to build the field of systems change.

In the context of growing use of the term “systems change” and increasing interest in systemic approaches to address some of the world’s most complex challenges, we co-convened a retreat in June 2018 bringing together practitioners, academics, funders to explore together how we might work together to build the field of systems change.

Pathways to building the field

In the run-up to the retreat, we asked people attending and unable to attend to offer their definitions of systems change, and of field-building. In June we spent three days on Wasan Island, Canada, with a group of 25 people exploring pathways to building the field. These pathways are interlocking, mutually supportive routes from where we are today to a desired future. They form a nested hierarchy, with the “Stewardship” pathway supporting the other four, which together contribute to cultivating systems change practice in service of our collective purpose.

Download our full write-up of the retreat here:

Systems change: a field building convening